The hospitality manager permit route has been on a rollercoaster in 2026. On 28 April, DETE announced the General Employment Permit quota for hospitality manager roles had filled — all 292 permits gone, later applications refused. Then, following the May 2026 Occupations Lists Review, four new quotas were established, running from 13 May 2026. Nobody could file a valid application before 10 June — these roles need a fresh 28-day Labour Market Needs Test, and that clock starts when you advertise, not when the quota opened.
The catch is how the replacement is structured. The old 292 permits covered all four manager roles from a single pot. The new allocation is split four ways by role, so any one role now draws on a far smaller pool than before — 100 permits for hotel and accommodation managers, against the 292 that four roles used to share. DETE publishes no running count of what remains in any of them. If you have been planning to hire an overseas Hotel Manager, Restaurant Manager, or Catering/Bar Manager, the route is open today — but this is not a route to sit on.
Correct as of 16 July 2026. DETE quotas, salary thresholds and processing times change during the year — this year the manager quota filled in April and was replaced from 13 May by four narrower pools, and DETE publishes no live counter of how many permits remain. Get in touch and we will verify the current position for your specific role before you spend anything on the process.
CA Recruitment handles overseas recruitment and employment permit applications for Irish hospitality employers. If you need staff for roles that are still permit-eligible, talk to us before you start the process.
The Manager Quota: Filled in April, Replaced in May
The original single quota of 292 permits — covering Catering/Bar Managers, Hotel and Accommodation Managers, Restaurant Managers and Publicans — filled on 28 April 2026. Applications submitted after that date were refused, and DETE also rejected applications that had already been submitted and were still awaiting processing.
The Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 213/2026) then replaced it with four separate quotas:
- Hotel and accommodation managers and proprietors — 100 permits
- Restaurant and catering establishment managers and proprietors — 200 permits
- Publicans and managers of licensed premises — 50 permits
- Catering and bar managers — 50 permits
The four pools run from 13 May 2026, the start date set in the regulations. But these roles also need a fresh 28-day Labour Market Needs Test, so the earliest date a valid application could actually be submitted was 10 June 2026 — 28 days later. As of 16 July 2026, no "quota filled" notice has been published for any of the four pools.
Two things to take seriously: the pools are small (100 permits nationally for hotel managers is not many), and DETE does not publish a running count of what remains. If a pool fills while you're mid-process, you only find out after you've already run the 28-day test. Verify before you start.
What Else Is Permit-Eligible in Hospitality
The quota drama affects manager-level roles only. The workhorse hospitality permit route has no cap at all:
Chefs
Chef roles are permit-eligible with no quota — none of the 2026 quota turbulence touches them. Ireland has a chronic shortage of qualified chefs, and if your immediate requirement is kitchen capacity, chef placements remain the most reliable route in the sector.
DETE allows the following chef grades under the General Employment Permit:
- Executive Chef — minimum 5 years' experience
- Head Chef — minimum 5 years' experience
- Sous Chef — minimum 5 years' experience
- Chef de Partie — minimum 2 years' experience
- Commis Chef — minimum 2 years' experience
The chef must be employed in an establishment other than a fast-food outlet — that condition is about your premises, not the candidate's CV. A hotel, restaurant or catering establishment qualifies; a fast-food or takeaway operation does not. All grades must meet the GEP minimum annual salary of €36,605.
Important: most other hospitality roles are not permit-eligible
Bar staff, waiters, kitchen porters, accommodation staff, hotel receptionists, and housekeeping staff are all on DETE's Ineligible Occupations List. They cannot be sponsored for a General Employment Permit. If your staffing requirement is for front-of-house or housekeeping roles, the permit route is not available for those positions.
The standard GEP minimum salary is €36,605 per year. Many hospitality roles will not meet this threshold at standard industry rates. Check the annual salary against the current minimum before starting the Labour Market Needs Test — an application for a role paying below threshold will be refused regardless of quota status.
What to Do If Your Requirement Is for a Manager-Level Role
The route is open at the time of writing, so the practical advice is the opposite of what it was in May:
- Move now, not later. The new hotel-manager pool is 100 permits nationally — roughly a third of the old 292 allocation, which is gone. A Labour Market Needs Test takes 28 days before you can even submit — starting the clock early is the whole game.
- Verify the quota position on the day you commit. DETE publishes closure notices, not remaining counts. We check this as a matter of course before starting any client's process.
- Consider whether a chef hire also meets the operational need. If the business requires kitchen output as much as a management title, the chef route carries no quota risk at all.
The Permit Process for Eligible Roles
The standard GEP process applies to all permit-eligible hospitality roles:
Labour Market Needs Test: Advertise on DSP Employment Services (Jobs Ireland), EURES, and at least one additional online platform for the required advertising period. Demonstrate that no suitable EEA candidates were available for the role.
50/50 workforce check: At least 50% of your total workforce must be EEA, Swiss or UK citizens at the time of submitting the application. See our 50/50 rule guide for the detail.
GEP application to DETE: The employer submits the application through the DETE online portal. The application fee is €1,000 for a permit of up to 24 months. The decision queue moves around during the year — it was closer to thirteen weeks earlier in 2026 before shortening — so check our employment permit processing times tracker for the current position rather than working off a fixed number.
From starting the Labour Market Needs Test to a worker arriving on site, allow around six months.
If You Had an Application Caught by the April Closure
If your manager-role application was refused after 28 April 2026, or you abandoned one when the quota filled, the new quotas give you a fresh shot — but not fresh paperwork. The new quotas require a fresh 28-day Labour Market Needs Test; an LMNT run for the pre-April application does not carry over. Check your application's status through the DETE online portal, then re-run the test before resubmitting.
The hospitality sector in Ireland is still actively hiring at non-manager level. The National Minimum Wage increased to €14.15 per hour in January 2026, which has pushed payroll costs up across the sector. Overseas recruitment — for the roles where it is still available — is one of the few practical ways to hold payroll down without cutting service.
The operators who act now, while the quota is open for eligible roles, are in a better position than those waiting to see what happens next.
Need overseas hospitality staff? Let's find out what's possible.
CA Recruitment places hospitality workers with Irish employers and manages the full GEP process. We know which roles are currently eligible, what salary thresholds apply, and how to run the Labour Market Needs Test correctly.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, as of July 2026. The original quota of 292 General Employment Permits filled on 28 April 2026, but S.I. 213/2026 established four new quotas running from 13 May 2026: 100 permits for hotel and accommodation managers, 200 for restaurant and catering establishment managers, 50 for publicans and licensed premises managers, and 50 for catering and bar managers. These roles need a fresh 28-day Labour Market Needs Test, so you cannot submit until 28 days after you start advertising — the earliest anyone could apply was 10 June 2026. The pools are small — the hotel-manager pool is roughly a third of the old 292 allocation — so verify the current position with DETE, or with us, before starting.
Chef roles are the primary permit-eligible route in hospitality: Executive Chef, Head Chef and Sous Chef (minimum 5 years' experience), and Chef de Partie and Commis Chef (minimum 2 years). The chef must be employed in an establishment other than a fast-food outlet. Bar staff, waiters, kitchen porters, accommodation staff, and hotel receptionists are all on DETE's Ineligible Occupations List and cannot be sponsored for a General Employment Permit.
The standard General Employment Permit minimum salary is €36,605 per year. Employers should verify the annual salary against this threshold before starting the Labour Market Needs Test, as applications for roles paying below the minimum will be refused regardless of quota status.